The magic rectangle — Arjun Desai

As I’ve written before, I’ve been moved with the idea of digital nutrition from my friend Faheem (check out his letters).

And this week, I’ve been thinking on the chef behind the bad diet: our smartphone — the magic rectangle.

This rectangle uses some dark magic: it is carefully designed to regularly draw us in with sight (blue light, red badges), sound (dings and notes), and touch (buzzing, smooth glass)

That dopamine hit punctures small holes in our focus and willpower; and we end the day with an empty cup.

It's something I've struggled with for a decade and only realized the gripping effects in the last few years.

My current strategy to lasso control over my own rectangle:

No push notifications for messages: in the past, I remember having dinner with some friends: but my brain was no where in this chat. Where was it? Far away, in the clouds; formulating a future response to a text I had seen on my phone. How crazy was that?
Turn off most red badges: Woof, does this spread anxiety — especially for my inbox. This gives me shivers. Most apps aren't that important for me to go in a check on their time schedule.
Tucking away apps deep into a folder: Man, Instagram and TikTok really can do a number on you, right? I found as soon as lull hit, I opened my home screen and gravitated immediately to those colorful app icons. I found a huge difference in just putting them out of visual reach so I have to actively go and find them. Bonus: if it’s been a particularly addictive, I log out of the app to make it tougher to access.

Of course, magic is wondrous, and we are all grateful for this rectangle’s power. But with great power comes great responsibility. And I need to exercise it more!